WashU Olin soars into top 30 of US News MBA ranking

Drawing on the strength of several key career metrics—along with the demonstrated appeal of its program—WashU Olin’s MBA soared into the top 30 of the US News & World Report ranking for 2023.

Olin’s MBA program leaped seven spots to rank 29th in the magazine’s annual tally, in part thanks to continued improvement in MBA compensation and significant improvement in placement rates for newly minted MBAs.

“I am heartened to see the hard work of our faculty and staff recognized in this new ranking, reflecting the priority we place on career services,” said Olin Dean Mark P. Taylor. “The tightening of our acceptance rate also highlights the value and innovation applicants see in Olin’s unique approach to the MBA experience.”

That appeal shines through in Olin’s selectivity rate, which significantly tightened year-over-year: the program’s acceptance rate fell to 34% from 47%, reflecting broader interest in the program. Those numbers perhaps reflect excitement for Olin’s celebrated three-continent, 38-day global immersion, which introduces its MBA cohort to global business principles in different cultures.

Additionally, enthusiasm for the WashU MBA is bolstered by Poets & Quants’ ranking of MBA entrepreneurship programs, which placed Olin first for three consecutive years.

Meanwhile, the 2023 ranking also showed that Olin’s average starting salary and bonus for new grads rose to $134,336 from $132,261. At the same time, 94.4% of students landed jobs by three months after graduation, in contrast to 72.6% a year earlier. That, Dean Taylor said, reflects carefully planned upgrades to the Weston Career Center begun in 2018 coming into force, along with signs of the global pandemic beginning to wane.

The ranking comes on the heels of more positive ranking news with Olin’s strong showing in the Financial Times’ most recent global MBA ranking. The #29 placement in that ranking caps a five-year trend, with Olin moving up 39 spots—a trend Poets & Quants noted had singularly distinguished Olin above other schools.